ULA raising $1.5bn for expansion
August 19, 2026

By Chris Forrester



The United Launch Alliance (ULA), which is a joint-venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin and focuses on its giant rockets, is raising $1.5 billion (€1.29bn) by issuing private bonds. The amount is significantly larger than its earlier plan to raise $500 million.

The private placement features four tranches of debt with maturities spanning three to 10 years. The funding was handled by major financial institutions including Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, and Mizuho.


The capital injection for ULA follows recent operational and performance hurdles with solid rocket booster nozzles on Vulcan rocket launches, alongside prior financial strains and a recent leadership change naming Mark Peller as CEO. Peller was previously COO, where he managed operations for the Atlas and Vulcan launch vehicle programmes.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin established ULA two decades ago. The joint venture is among a small group of US companies authorised to launch the Defense Department’s most sensitive satellites.